Colorado pistol laws set the minimum purchase age at 21, require a background check on every firearm transfer (including private sales), impose a three-day waiting period before delivery, cap magazines at 15 rounds, and require a Concealed Handgun Permit to carry concealed. The rules changed substantially between 2023 and 2024, so a pistol owner working from older information is probably working from outdated law.
Who Can Buy and Own a Pistol
You must be at least 21 to buy any firearm in Colorado. SB23-169 raised the purchase age from 18 in 2023, and completing a sale to anyone younger is a misdemeanor for both buyer and seller.1Colorado General Assembly. SB23-169 Increasing Minimum Age To Purchase Firearms Possession is a separate rule: state law prohibits anyone under 18 from possessing a handgun, with narrow carve-outs for hunting, supervised target shooting, and self-defense at home with a parent’s permission.
Some adults are barred from possessing any firearm. Anyone with a felony conviction under Colorado, another state’s, or federal law falls into this category, and violation is a class 5 felony carrying one to three years in prison and fines up to $100,000.2FindLaw. Colorado Code 18-12-108 – Possession of Weapons by Previous Offenders3Justia Law. Colorado Code 18-1.3-401 – Felonies Classified – Presumptive Penalties People subject to certain civil or criminal protection orders are also prohibited under state law.
Background Checks and the Three-Day Wait
Colorado requires a background check on every firearm transfer, not just sales through licensed dealers. Buy a pistol from a friend, a neighbor, or someone on a classified listing, and the transaction still has to run through a licensed dealer, who submits the check to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.4Justia Law. Colorado Code 18-12-112 – Private Firearms Transfers – Background Check Required The dealer can charge up to $10 for handling the transfer, and the CBI’s processing fee is paid separately by the buyer.
Transfers between immediate family are exempt. The CBI reads that term to cover spouses, parents, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, first cousins, aunts, and uncles. In-laws are not on the list. Even inside the exemption, you cannot transfer a firearm to a family member who is prohibited from possessing one.5Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Firearms FAQs
A three-day waiting period runs on top of the check. The clock starts when the background check is initiated, and the firearm cannot leave the seller until the three days have passed or the check is approved, whichever comes later. Delivering early is a civil infraction: $500 for the first offense, up to $5,000 for repeat violations.6Colorado General Assembly. HB23-1219 Waiting Period To Deliver A Firearm
Concealed Handgun Permits
Carrying a concealed pistol requires a Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP) issued by your county sheriff. Colorado is a shall-issue state, so the sheriff must grant the permit if you meet every requirement: at least 21, a Colorado resident, able to pass a background check, and free of disqualifying criminal history or mental health adjudication.7Justia Law. Colorado Code 18-12-203 – Criteria for Obtaining a Permit
Training
Training rules tightened when HB24-1174 took effect. The initial class must be in person, last at least eight hours, and cover safe handling and storage, shooting fundamentals, federal and state firearms law, self-defense law, and techniques for managing violent confrontations. A written exam and live-fire exercise are required. The training certificate has to be less than one year old when you file the application.8Colorado General Assembly. HB24-1174 Concealed Carry Permits and Training
Renewal is a shorter refresher of at least two hours, still in person, still with live-fire and a written exam. It has to focus on changes to firearms law and be completed within six months before you file the renewal.
Fees, Duration, and Reciprocity
State-level fees for a new CHP total $52.50, covering the CBI fingerprint check, InstaCheck, and FBI fingerprint check.9Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP) County sheriffs add their own administrative fees, so the total varies by county. The permit lasts five years.
Colorado honors CHPs from about 34 other states, but only when the permit holder is a resident of the issuing state, carries a matching state ID, and is at least 21. A Colorado permit works the same way in reciprocal states. Colorado does not recognize non-resident permits from other states, and a Colorado resident cannot rely on an out-of-state non-resident permit inside Colorado.10Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP) Reciprocity Check the CBI list before traveling; it changes.
Open Carry and Carrying in Your Car
State law does not prohibit open carry, and no permit is required to carry a pistol openly in most of Colorado. Local governments have wide authority to go further, though, and their ordinances can be more restrictive than state law even if they cannot be less.11Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Colorado Revised Statutes 29-11.7-103 – Local Regulations Governing Firearms Permitted Denver, for one, has long banned open carry within city limits. Check the local rules wherever you plan to carry openly.
You do not need a permit to keep a pistol in your car. Colorado law treats a firearm carried in a private vehicle for lawful self-defense as legal, and a handgun in a vehicle is not “concealed” for permit purposes.12Department of Public Safety. Colorado Gun Laws Local governments cannot override this rule; the state has preempted ordinances that would restrict travel with a firearm in a private vehicle, no matter how many stops you make within a jurisdiction.13Justia Law. Colorado Code 18-12-105.6 – Limitation on Local Ordinances Regarding Firearms The exception covers lawful protection of yourself, another person, or property. Once you step out of the vehicle, the normal rules take over: open carry follows local law, and concealed carry requires a permit.
Where You Can’t Carry
Some places are off-limits regardless of your permit. You cannot carry openly or concealed on the grounds of any school, from child care centers through colleges and universities, and the ban covers the whole property rather than just the buildings.14Justia Law. Colorado Code 18-12-105.5 – Unlawfully Carrying a Weapon – School, College, or University Grounds Narrow exceptions apply to authorized demonstrations, employees whose duties require a firearm, and participants in school-sanctioned activities.
SB24-131, effective in 2024, expanded the list of sensitive spaces where firearms are prohibited, including polling places and certain government buildings. Violating any location-based prohibition is a class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to 364 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.15Justia Law. Colorado Code 18-1.3-501 – Misdemeanors Classified – Penalties
Private property owners can also prohibit firearms on their premises. Posted signage is the usual method, and ignoring it can add trespassing charges to any other violation.
Magazine Limits and Unserialized Firearms
Colorado bans the sale, transfer, and possession of large-capacity magazines, defined as any detachable or fixed magazine capable of holding more than 15 rounds.16FindLaw. Colorado Code 18-12-301 – Definitions A grandfather clause protects magazines owned before July 1, 2013, if you have kept continuous possession since then.17Justia Law. Colorado Code 18-12-302 – Large-Capacity Magazines Prohibited – Penalties – Exceptions
A first violation is a class 2 misdemeanor (up to 120 days in jail and a $750 fine). A second or subsequent violation is a class 1 misdemeanor (up to 364 days and $1,000). Possession during a felony or crime of violence is a class 6 felony, one to 18 months in prison and fines up to $100,000. The magazine offense stands on its own; police do not need to tie it to another crime to charge you.18Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Colorado Code 18-12-302 – Large-Capacity Magazines Prohibited – Penalties – Exceptions
Since January 1, 2024, Colorado has also banned the possession, sale, and manufacture of unserialized firearms and unfinished frames or receivers. Homemade firearms owned before that date had to be serialized by a federally licensed dealer by the deadline. A first offense is a class 1 misdemeanor (up to 364 days and $1,000); a second offense jumps to a class 5 felony with one to three years in prison, and a misdemeanor conviction also blocks you from passing a background check for five years.19Colorado General Assembly. SB23-279 Unserialized Firearms and Firearm Components
Storage and Reporting Lost or Stolen Pistols
Colorado requires secure storage when a firearm is not in use. You meet the rule by keeping the pistol in a locked safe or container, by installing a trigger lock or cable lock, or by using a personalized firearm with its safety features active. The point is that no juvenile or ineligible person in the household can reach the key, combination, or unlocking mechanism.20Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Colorado Code 18-12-114 – Secure Firearm Storage Required A storage failure is a class 2 misdemeanor, up to 120 days in jail and a $750 fine.
If your pistol is lost or stolen, report it to local law enforcement within five days of discovering the loss. A first failure is a civil infraction with a $25 fine; a second or subsequent failure becomes an unclassified misdemeanor with a fine up to $500.21Justia Law. Colorado Code 18-12-113 – Failure to Report a Lost or Stolen Firearm The five-day clock starts when you discover the loss, not when the firearm actually went missing.
When You Can Use Your Pistol in Self-Defense
Owning a pistol for self-defense is legal, and Colorado gives defenders relatively broad protection. The rules differ sharply between public spaces and your home.
General Self-Defense
You can use physical force against another person when you reasonably believe it is necessary to defend yourself or someone else from the imminent use of unlawful force. Deadly force is only justified when you reasonably believe a lesser degree of force would not be enough and you face an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury. Deadly force is also allowed against what reasonably appears to be a burglary of an occupied dwelling or business, kidnapping, robbery, or sexual assault.22Justia Law. Colorado Code 18-1-704 – Use of Physical Force in Defense of a Person
Self-defense is not available if you provoked the confrontation intending to cause harm or if you were the initial aggressor. One exception to the aggressor rule: if you clearly communicate your intent to withdraw and the other person keeps using or threatening force, your right to defend yourself returns. Colorado also bars a self-defense claim when the force was motivated by the discovery of another person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
The Make My Day Law
Inside a dwelling, the protections go further. Colorado’s “Make My Day” law lets an occupant use any degree of physical force, including deadly force, against someone who has made an unlawful entry into the home. Three conditions have to be met: the intruder entered unlawfully, you reasonably believe the intruder committed or intends to commit a crime beyond the entry itself, and you reasonably believe the intruder might use any physical force against an occupant.23Justia Law. Colorado Code 18-1-704.5 – Use of Deadly Physical Force Against an Intruder
What sets the statute apart is the immunity. Act within its requirements and you are immune from both criminal prosecution and civil liability. That is different from general self-defense, which functions as an affirmative defense you raise at trial. There is no duty to retreat inside your home even if you could easily escape. “Dwelling” covers houses, apartments, hotel rooms, and RV trailers, but not the common areas of apartment buildings or detention facilities.
Red Flag Orders
Colorado’s Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) law lets a court temporarily remove firearms from a person who poses a significant danger to themselves or others. Close family members, certain health and social workers, and government agencies can petition.24Colorado Judicial Branch. Extreme Risk Protection Order Forms
A temporary ERPO can be issued quickly and lasts up to 14 days, with a full hearing scheduled inside that window where the respondent can challenge the order. A final ERPO issued after the hearing can last up to 364 days, and it can be terminated early or extended. Under an active order, the respondent must surrender all firearms and any concealed carry permit to a law enforcement agency or a federally licensed firearms dealer.25Colorado General Assembly. HB19-1177 Extreme Risk Protection Orders Antique or collector firearms can be surrendered to an eligible family member who does not live with the respondent. If the order expires or is terminated, the firearms are returned.